Whistler women run Boston Marathon 40 years after first female runner

The year Whistler's Marla Zucht was born marked the first year women were able to run in the Boston Marathon.

That was just 40 years ago. Men had been running in the Boston Marathon for more than 70 years before women were officially sanctioned in the event, the world's oldest annual marathon.

Zucht, who has been a runner her whole life, said it's "mind boggling" to think that women weren't allowed to compete in the sixties.

Though there was a lot of celebration around the 40th anniversary of women competing this year, to be honest that wasn't much on her mind said Zucht as she joined the field of thousands of runners Monday in sweltering conditions.

By 10:30 a.m., before she even started to run, it was 30C.

"It just felt stifling."

And the heat, which forced 4,000 of the 27,000 runners to defer until next year, was on her mind the whole time.

Whereas she would normally be thinking about trying to get a personal best finish, on Monday she was thinking:

"Am I going to finish this? It was disconcerting for sure."

It took her just over four hours to finish — her slowest time out of the roughly 10 marathons she's competed in. The winner Wesley Korir of Kenya finished in 2:12:40, the second slowest Boston Marathon finish since 1985.

"It was just a different experience," said Zucht.

But that didn't lessen the accomplishment.

"I'm really thrilled to have experienced it," she said.

Another Whistler woman, Vicki Romanin, also competed Monday. She had trained all winter to ensure a cool run... and wasn't expecting the weather curveball.

"The night before the run I changed my goal from a PR to 'staying out of the medical tent,'" she said in an email to Pique."Mission accomplished...unlike 2,000 folks who ended up in those crowded tents."

Like Zucht, Romanin was also slower — half an hour slower than her qualifying time.

She hit every water station, sprinkler and port-o-potty — for the shade.

"But survived! Yes!"

Zucht echoed that sentiment, pleased that she persevered, knowing that her skate ski training in the Callaghan and on the Spearhead Traverse would pay off, even if it was in 30C cooler weather.

At the end she was sore, dehydrated, sunburned — and proud of finishing the iconic Boston Marathon.